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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
TASMANIA
__________
POLICE OFFENCES AMENDMENT
(CONSORTING) BILL 2018
__________
CONTENTS
PART 1 - PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
2. Commencement
PART 2 - POLICE OFFENCES ACT 1935 AMENDED
3. Principal Act
4. Section 6 repealed
5. Part II, Division III inserted
Division III - Consorting
20A. Interpretation of Division III
20B. Object of Division III
20C. Consorting
20D. Official warnings
20E. Review of decision to authorise giving of official
warning
20F. Review of Division
6. Section 55 amended (Arrest)
PART 3 - JUDICIAL REVIEW ACT 2000 AMENDED
7. Principal Act
8. Schedule 1 amended (Decisions to which Act does not apply)
PART 4 - CONCLUDING PROVISION
9. Repeal of Act
[Bill 37]-XI
2
POLICE OFFENCES AMENDMENT
(CONSORTING) BILL 2018
This Public Bill originated in the House of Assembly, and, having this day passed, is
now ready for presentation to the Legislative Council for its concurrence.
SHANE DONNELLY, Clerk of the House
20 September 2018
(Brought in by the Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency
Management, the Honourable Michael Darrel Joseph
Ferguson)
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the Police Offences Act 1935 in relation to
consorting and for related purposes
Be it enacted by Her Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by
and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and
House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:
PART 1 - PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Police Offences
Amendment (Consorting) Act 2018.
2. Commencement
This Act commences on the day on which this
Act receives the Royal Assent.
[Bill 37] 3
Police Offences Amendment (Consorting) Act 2018
Act No. of 2018
s. 3 Part 2 - Police Offences Act 1935 Amended
PART 2 - POLICE OFFENCES ACT 1935 AMENDED
3. Principal Act
In this Part, the Police Offences Act 1935* is
referred to as the Principal Act.
4. Section 6 repealed
Section 6 of the Principal Act is repealed.
5. Part II, Division III inserted
After section 20 of the Principal Act, the
following Division is inserted in Part II:
Division III - Consorting
20A. Interpretation of Division III
In this Division -
consort means consort in person or by
any other means, including by
electronic or other forms of
communication;
convicted offender means a person
who has been convicted of a
serious offence and who has
attained the age of 18 years;
_______________________________________________________________
*No. 44 of 1935
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Act No. of 2018
Part 2 - Police Offences Act 1935 Amended s. 5
dependant, in relation to a defendant,
means a family member of the
defendant who is wholly or
mainly dependent on the
defendant;
family member, in relation to a
defendant, means -
(a) the spouse of the
defendant; or
(b) if the defendant is in a
significant relationship
with a person, within the
meaning of the
Relationships Act 2003,
that person; or
(c) a child of the defendant;
or
(d) a parent of the defendant;
or
(e) a sibling of the defendant,
including a half-brother or
half-sister of the
defendant; or
(f) a relative, or step-relative,
of the defendant, who
lives with the defendant;
health care worker means a State
Service employee, or other
person, who is employed or
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Police Offences Amendment (Consorting) Act 2018
Act No. of 2018
s. 5 Part 2 - Police Offences Act 1935 Amended
engaged to provide health advice
or health care;
official warning means a warning,
authorised under section 20D(1)
to be given, that has not been
revoked under section 20D(6)(b)
or section 20E(4)(b);
serious offence means -
(a) an indictable offence,
whether the offence is
tried on indictment or
summarily; and
(b) an offence under the
Firearms Act 1996; and
(c) an offence under the
Misuse of Drugs Act
2001; and
(d) an offence under the Sex
Industry Offences Act
2005; and
(e) an offence under Part 8 of
the Classification
(Publications, Films and
Computer Games)
Enforcement Act 1995;
and
(f) an offence, under a law of
the Commonwealth,
another State, a Territory,
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Police Offences Amendment (Consorting) Act 2018
Act No. of 2018
Part 2 - Police Offences Act 1935 Amended s. 5
or another country, that, if
the offence had occurred
in this State, would be an
offence referred to in
another paragraph of this
definition.
20B. Object of Division III
The object of this Division is to prevent
serious criminal activity by deterring
convicted offenders from establishing,
maintaining and expanding criminal
networks.
20C. Consorting
(1) A convicted offender must not habitually
consort with another convicted offender
within 5 years after having been given
under section 20D(2) an official warning
in relation to the other convicted
offender.
Penalty: Fine not exceeding 150 penalty
units or imprisonment for a term
not exceeding 3 years, or both.
(2) For the purposes of this section, a
convicted offender does not habitually
consort with another convicted offender
unless the convicted offender consorts
with the other convicted offender on at
least 2 occasions within the 5-year period
after having been given under
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Police Offences Amendment (Consorting) Act 2018
Act No. of 2018
s. 5 Part 2 - Police Offences Act 1935 Amended
section 20D(2) an official warning in
relation to the other convicted offender.
(3) It is a defence to a charge of consorting
under subsection (1) if the defendant
satisfies the court that the consorting was
any of the following kinds of consorting
and was reasonable in the circumstances:
(a) consorting with a family member;
(b) consorting that occurred in the
course of -
(i) genuinely conducting a
lawful business; or
(ii) being genuinely engaged
in lawful employment -
during work hours that were
reasonable operating hours for
that type of business or
employment;
(c) consorting that occurred in the
course of -
(i) attending premises
genuinely for the purpose
of receiving education or
training that is recognised,
or provided, under a law
relating to training or
education; or
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Police Offences Amendment (Consorting) Act 2018
Act No. of 2018
Part 2 - Police Offences Act 1935 Amended s. 5
(ii) attending premises with a
dependant of the
defendant who is
receiving education or
training that is recognised,
or provided, under a law
relating to training or
education;
(d) consorting that occurred in the
course of the defendant
attending -
(i) a hospital, health clinic or
dental surgery or a
medical practice operated
by a medical practitioner;
or
(ii) a clinic, or offices, at or
from which the services
of a health care worker
are provided; or
(iii) the professional suite of a
person who is registered
under the Health
Practitioner Regulation
National Law (Tasmania)
and is providing services
to which the person's
registration relates -
for the purposes of the defendant
receiving services, or enabling a
dependant of the defendant to
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Police Offences Amendment (Consorting) Act 2018
Act No. of 2018
s. 5 Part 2 - Police Offences Act 1935 Amended
receive services, in relation to
which a person may be registered
under the Health Practitioner
Regulation National Law
(Tasmania) or employed or
engaged as a health care worker;
(e) consorting that occurred in the
course of the defendant attending
the professional suite or office of
a person who is registered or
authorised under a law to work as
a counsellor, psychotherapist or
social worker, for the purposes
of -
(i) receiving services from
that person that are related
to that registration or
authorisation; or
(ii) accompanying a
dependant of the
defendant who is
attending the suite or
office for the purpose of
the dependant receiving
services from that person
that are related to that
registration or
authorisation;
(f) consorting that occurred in the
course of obtaining, or attempting
to obtain, legal advice from an
Australian legal practitioner;
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Part 2 - Police Offences Act 1935 Amended s. 5
(g) consorting that occurred in lawful
custody or in the course of
complying with a court order, a
parole order or a probation order.
20D. Official warnings
(1) A commissioned police officer, if
satisfied that it is desirable to do so in
furtherance of the objects of this
Division, may authorise a convicted
offender to be given a notice in writing
(an official warning) specifying that -
(a) another convicted offender,
named in the notice, is a
convicted offender; and
(b) it is an offence to consort with the
convicted offender within 5 years
after having been given an
official warning in relation to the
offender.
(2) A police officer may, in person, give an
official warning to a person to whom the
official warning was authorised under
subsection (1) to be given.
(3) A person to whom an official warning
has been given under subsection (2) may,
within 28 days, by notice to the
Commissioner, request a review of the
decision to authorise the official warning
to be given to the person.
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s. 5 Part 2 - Police Offences Act 1935 Amended
(4) The Commissioner must, as soon as
practicable after receiving from a person
a notice under subsection (3) in relation
to an official warning, require a police
officer, who is of a higher rank than the
commissioned police officer who
authorised the official warning to be
given, to review the decision to authorise
the official warning to be given.
(5) A police officer who is, under
subsection (4), required by the
Commissioner to review a decision to
authorise an official warning to be given
must, as soon as practicable, review the
decision.
(6) A police officer must, as soon as
practicable after carrying out, in
accordance with subsection (5), a review
of a decision to authorise an official
warning to be given to a person, give to
the person -
(a) a notice in writing -
(i) specifying that the police
officer has conducted a
review of the decision to
authorise the giving of an
official warning to the
person; and
(ii) specifying that the police
officer is of the opinion
that the decision to
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Part 2 - Police Offences Act 1935 Amended s. 5
authorise the giving of the
official warning was
appropriate; and
(iii) advising the person that
the person may, within 28
days of receiving the
notice, apply to a
magistrate under
section 20E(1) for a
review of the decision to
authorise the giving of the
official warning; or
(b) a notice in writing -
(i) specifying that the police
officer has conducted a
review of the decision to
authorise the giving of an
official warning to the
person; and
(ii) revoking the official
warning.
20E. Review of decision to authorise giving of
official warning
(1) A person who has been given a notice
under section 20D(6)(a) in relation to an
official warning given to the person
under section 20D(2) may make an
application to the Magistrates Court
(Administrative Appeals Division) under
the Magistrates Court (Administrative
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s. 5 Part 2 - Police Offences Act 1935 Amended
Appeals Division) Act 2001 for a review
of the decision under section 20D(1) to
authorise the giving of the official
warning to the person.
(2) The following provisions of the
Magistrates Court (Administrative
Appeals Division) Act 2001 do not apply
in relation to an application referred to in
subsection (1):
(a) Division 1 of Part 4;
(b) section 21;
(c) Subdivisions 2 and 3 of Division
2 of Part 4.
(3) For the purposes of section 17 of the
Magistrates Court (Administrative
Appeals Division) Act 2001, the
prescribed period, in relation to a
decision under section 20D(1) to
authorise the giving of an official
warning to a person, is 28 days after the
day on which a notice was given to the
person under section 20D(6)(a) in
relation to the official warning.
(4) The Magistrates Court (Administrative
Appeals Division) is to determine an
application made under subsection (1) in
relation to a decision under
section 20D(1) to authorise the giving of
an official warning -
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Police Offences Amendment (Consorting) Act 2018
Act No. of 2018
Part 2 - Police Offences Act 1935 Amended s. 5
(a) by confirming the decision to
authorise the giving of the official
warning; or
(b) by revoking the official warning.
(5) In dealing with an application for a
review under subsection (1), the
Magistrates Court (Administrative
Appeals Division) -
(a) is to ensure that it does not, in the
reasons for its decision or
otherwise, disclose the existence
or content of any criminal
intelligence report or other
criminal information; and
(b) in order to prevent the disclosure
of any such report or other
information, is to receive
evidence and hear argument, in
relation to such reports or other
criminal information, in the
absence of the public, the
applicant for the review and the
applicant's representative.
20F. Review of Division
(1) The Ombudsman is to review the
operation of this Division, and complete
the review, within 4 years after the
commencement of this Division.
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Act No. of 2018
s. 6 Part 2 - Police Offences Act 1935 Amended
(2) The Minister is to cause a report on the
outcome of the review to be tabled in
each House of Parliament within 10
sitting-days of that House after the
review is completed.
6. Section 55 amended (Arrest)
Section 55(2D) of the Principal Act is amended
by inserting "section 20C(1)," after "15CA(1),".
16
Police Offences Amendment (Consorting) Act 2018
Act No. of 2018
Part 3 - Judicial Review Act 2000 Amended s. 7
PART 3 - JUDICIAL REVIEW ACT 2000 AMENDED
7. Principal Act
In this Part, the Judicial Review Act 2000* is
referred to as the Principal Act.
8. Schedule 1 amended (Decisions to which Act does
not apply)
Schedule 1 to the Principal Act is amended by
inserting after item 5 the following item:
5. A decision made under section 20D of
the Police Offences Act 1935.
_______________________________________________________________
*No. 54 of 2000
17
Police Offences Amendment (Consorting) Act 2018
Act No. of 2018
s. 9 Part 4 - Concluding Provision
PART 4 - CONCLUDING PROVISION
9. Repeal of Act
This Act is repealed on the three hundred and
sixty fifth day from the day on which it
commences.
18 Government Printer, Tasmania